We were lucky to catch up with Belle Bermudez-Tubel recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Belle, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
As I was growing up, I learned early on that everything happens for a reason. I was born and raised in the Philippines and we didn’t have a lot of money. I was constantly faced with challenges growing up, my mom leaving me to work abroad so that they’d have enough money to send me to college, my aunt and uncle who were like my second parents passing, and so much more, not to mention tons of heartbreaks as I was growing up. I can’t remember when or how it exactly happened. Maybe it was through a talk with someone wise or from a book I have read; but at some point, every time something bad happened in my life, I would constantly tell myself that it happened for a reason. That even if I may not know why it happened at that point, that in due time, it will all be clear and it will make sense why that had to happen.
Before I met my husband, I was in a dark place. My heart was shredded into pieces by people I trusted the most. To say that I was depressed was an understatement. You know, when you reach that point in your life, you’d have forgotten all the lessons that you have learned because of how deep the pain was. And then he came. It didn’t happen right away, but it did became clear why all the heartbreak I had to go through happened. It was because I was being prepared for him. Not everything was perfect since then, but it was perfect for us.
When I migrated to the United States, I had plans of filing a petition to get my parents here as well. But my mom didn’t want to live here permanently. She was a very social person and all her friends and family live in the Philippines. But almost a decade ago, she was kidnapped by someone she trusted. You thought things like this happen in movies until it happens to you. Luckily, her kidnappers decided to release her and we got her back safely. Because of that, she agreed that it would be better for her to migrate here.
Since then, whenever bad things happen in either my personal life or work life, I always remind myself that in due time, it will all become clear. That’s not to say that I don’t get upset when things don’t go as I hoped. Of course, I still do. I get upset, eat my way through it, sometimes even shop or cry. But after all that’s done, I pick myself up, tell myself that this happened for a reason, and continue fighting.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I started as a family, maternity, newborn, and senior photographer. I help moms document special milestones in their lives, whether they are expecting a new family member, welcoming a new baby, celebrating a key milestone in their high school or college graduate’s life, or even those who just want to document the current season of their lives. I focus on connections and genuine interactions. I still take those everyone looking at me smiling photos just so my clients have those, but what sets my soul on fire are those interactive moments that genuinely show my clients’ story.
I believe that there’s no such thing as big or small life moments, even the ordinary moments of you baking with your family can be documented. Because the mundane things that you do with your family, are the ones that you would want to look back on when the kids are older.
I have 4 amazing associate photographers who I trained myself to photograph clients for me to accommodate the increasing demands. They help me with family, maternity, newborn, and senior photography. Our clients have loved working with them and have came back year after year.
I have recently started offering branding and product photography to help small business owners connect with their target audience through strategic gallery of images infused with their personality that highlight their story, what makes them unique. My favorite part about commercial photography is that no 2 projects are the same and it just gets my creative juices flowing.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Other than the technical skills which is a given, I think following my heart & believing that I can do it, my thirst for knowledge, and strong work ethic really helped me in my journey.
Growing up, I have always followed my heart. Photography was supposedly just a stepping stone for me. My plan was to launch a social media consulting company. I was going to try photography for a little bit, build a good social media following, and use that to add to my portfolio. But as soon as I started working with families, I fell in love. And I knew right then and there, that this is what I needed to do. At that point, everything was trial and error for me. I didn’t know what I was doing. I made a lot of mistakes. I was disappointed in myself a lot after every session. But somehow, I know that if I just give myself some time, that I will figure things out.
I bought and watched every course I could find to improve my technical skills. I didn’t have a lot of spare time then because my kids were little and I was working full time; but I made time. I would watch lessons while I was working out just so I can continue learning. If there was a specific area that I needed to focus on, I would buy a course and watch it. And more importantly, I implemented what I have learned, reached out to people for feedback or to troubleshoot a mistake I did. And I used all of those and continued to improve my work until I was fully happy with the product that I am delivering to clients. I know that there’s still a lot of things to learn so I am always looking for ways to grow.
Running your own business with 3 kids and a full time job is not for the faint of heart. There were a lot of late nights, not to mention that taking care of myself was never a priority. Most of the time, I would have big projects that I’m working on that I needed to finish by a certain deadline. The things to do never stopped, in fact, things just kept adding up. There were moments when I am exhausted or sometimes discouraged. But I didn’t let all of these stop me. I know that if I push through it and continue working as hard as I could, that I would soon enjoy the fruit of all my hard work.
My advice to those who are just starting out is to believe in yourself especially during the times you feel can’t do it, be open to opportunities to learn, and give it your all.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
My biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months is self care. With the demand of raising 3 kids, my IT job, running a business, and managing a team of photographers, I have always put myself last. But I have realized that in order for me to be a good mom, a good IT employee, a good entrepreneur, and a good team leader, I need to fill my cup first. So this year, I have made it a goal to take care of myself first.
Especially for my family, I knew I needed to make sure that I am healthy and that I stop any bad habits that I have.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tubellephotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tubellephotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tubellephotography/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/tubelle.commercial/
https://www.facebook.com/tubelle.commercial/
Image Credits
Only the photo of myself – Abigail Lague Photography All other photos are by TuBelle Photography
